Boot and shoe tip



(No Model.)

F. S. DAWES BOOT AND SHOE TIP.

Patented 001;. 18, 1881 INVENTOR ,6 c

a1 @w ATTORNEYS WITNESSES N. FETEBi Phclo lllhog -lpher, WJSNIHSIOIL a. c,

llNrrED STATES ATENT FFICE.

FREDERICK S. DAWES, O F HUDSON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT AND SHOE TIP.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 248,410, dated October 18, 1881.

Application filed July 9, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK S. DAWES, a citizen of the United States, resident of Hudson, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented. a new and valuable Improvement in Shoe-Tips; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure] of the drawings is a representation of a top view of my device. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview. Fig.3isasectional viewthrough one of the tongues, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view through one of the slots.

This invention has relation to metallic shoetips; and it consists in a boot and shoe tip having its ba e slotted to form tongues, such slots terminating in circular enlargements, whereby the tongues may be adjusted relative to each other to increase or diminish the width of the. base without material change to the outer conformation of the tip, all as hereinafter shown and described.

The object of this invention is to provide a tip which can readily be adjusted to suit the toes of shoes of different breadth or form without afl'ecting the flatness of the base or the concavity of the upper portion of said tip.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter a designates the upper concave or overhanging portion of the tip, I) the base portion thereof, and c the bend or curvature of metal joining the upper portion with the base.

The base portion is separated into tongues d by means of divergent slots 6, which extend inward from its edge toward the bend c at different points, the slots being directed in such a manner as to be at right angles, or nearly so, with lines tangent to the horizontal curvature of the tip. At their inner ends the slots are enlarged in the form of round or elliptical openings 9, the inner borders of which are made at the lower part of the bend c, as indicated in the drawings. The straight portions of said slots are made of sufficient. width to allow for an adjustment of the tongues toward each other, and the tongues are provided with holes k, for the fastening tacks or pegs.

The tip thus constructed can be adjusted readily to fit a wide or narrow, square, or round toe, and in the adjustment, which is effected by merely bending the tip to the proper form, the flatness of the base is preserved, and the concavity of the upper portion is not injured, or, indeed, varied to any practical extent, because the effect of the bending, in so far as any disturbance of the metal is concerned, is produced mainlyat thelower portion of the bend c, along the inner borderv of the enlargement g, which is of sufficient extent to reduce the disturbance at any one point to a minimum. These enlargements 9 allow the tip to be varied to suit different sizes of shoes, and at the same time keep its smooth and proper shape. As the tongues are moved the width of the base is varied, but the shape and curvature of the toe-piece are unaffected.

I am aware of a metal plate for a heel having tongue with intermediate slits having enlarged bases; but this could not be adapted to a tip, as the tongues pass each other, making a thickness which would be objectionable.

Havingdescribedthisinventiomwhatlclaim,

and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An improved metal boot and shoe tip having its base slotted to form tongues, such slots terminating in circular enlargements, whereby the tongues may be adjusted relative to each other to increase or diminish the width of the base without material change to the outer conformation of the tip, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK S. DAWES.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM N. DAVENPORT, J AMES '1. J OSLIN. 

